Skip ropes have been used for years as recreation and/or exercise devices. Although a skip rope may comprise nothing more than a length of an elongated flexible element, such as a rope, it is common practice to attach handles to the opposite ends of the rope to facilitate the rope skipping operation. To prevent the rope from becoming twisted in use, some skip ropes employ bearings for attaching the handles to the ends of the rope. It is known to use bearings of various designs, including ball bearings, for this purpose.
Although bearings have been used to rotatably attach the handles to the ends of the rope, it is surprisingly difficult to accomplish this within the constraints imposed by the relatively low retail selling prices of skip ropes. When a ball bearing is used, it is mounted at or adjacent the inner end of a handle. Unfortunately, this leaves the ball bearing exposed to dirt and other contaminants and it increases the likelihood of damage to the bearing. Moreover, the assembly techniques for this construction typically add significantly to the cost of the unit.
It is also known to add weights to the rope. This may be done to increase the centrifugal force generated in skipping and/or to widen the bottom of the arc of the rope. In this connection, it is known to attach members to the rope and to provide thickened regions along the rope. In any event, the weighted portion of the rope is characteristically, either totally immovable or subject to sliding along the rope due to the centrifugal force exerted thereon in jumping or to other factors. Moreover, the weights may appear unsightly and they add to the cost of the skip rope.